Avocette and the Child Development Agency of Jamaica are very pleased to announce the signing of a contract and kick off the project with their agency in November 2014.

The Child Development Agency of Jamaica (CDA) was established in 2004 out of a merger of the Child Support Unit, the Child Services Division, and the Adoption Division. Their mission is to:

Provide support to children in need of care and protection

Carry out advocacy/public education programs to prevent child abuse

Investigate reports of child abuse, abandonment and neglect to determine the best interest of the child which supports the Courts and the Police

Provide quality care for children who are brought into the care of the State

Advise government on policy and legal issues relating to children.

Avocette will be working with the Child Development Agency of Jamaica over the next few years to implement a new Child Protection, Child Case Management, Child Adoptions and Family Services software system for Jamaica. In order to accomplish this task, the CDA will be using our Sohema software product to take them from a paper based system to a new online case management system. Although Jamaica isn't a large island, it takes a long time to travel between areas and with many members of the CDA working in offices throughout the island, a paper based system just wasn't meeting the needs of the CDA. Upon completion of this project, it will allow the CDA to provide better statistics to the Ministry, Jamaican government, United Nations, and other organizations who are monitoring progress of Jamaica in human rights and the protection of children.

The CDA is excited about the opportunities the new Sohema Case Management System will provide, as well as the ability to utilize tools that are already being used in Canada. Using case management tools that are already validated and working in Canada, will provide the CDA with key insights and opportunities to make improvements to the Jamaican system.

The Jamaican Child Development Agency team came and visited our New Westminster office back in November, and we were lucky enough to visit them for a week in mid-January at their offices in Kingston, Jamaica. Below are some great photos from our trip: